The present invention relates to a device for fixing a door or flap, in particular a door or flap of a refrigerator and/or freezer, in the closed position, wherein the device includes a spring element and a holding element, in particular a closing cam, which are arranged such that in the closed position of the door or flap they cooperate such that separating the spring element and the holding element from each other only is possible by applying force.
A safe closing of a door or flap of a refrigerator generally is realized by means of a spring element located on the refrigerator door and with a closing cam located for instance on the bearing block. In the closed condition of the door or flap, the spring element encloses the closing cam in arrangements known from the prior art. The clamping force of the door or flap very much depends on the material of the spring element and on the geometry thereof. To achieve a sufficient clamping force in the case of heavy doors, the spring element must be made very “stiff”, which means that for deforming the spring element a comparatively large deformation force is necessary. This means that comparatively large tensions are achieved in the spring element.
Prior art spring elements are made of plastic material with the disadvantage that the admissible tensions in the component are small. This means that only small deformation forces and mostly only small spring deflections are admissible.